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Used test: Hyundai Kona Electric vs Vauxhall Mokka-e vs Volkswagen ID 3 interiors
With savings of around £10,000 off new, each of these two-year-old electric cars could be considered incredibly tempting buys. Which is best deserving of esteem, though? We find out...
Interiors
Driving position, visibility, build quality, practicality
All of our contenders have fundamentally sound driving positions, with the major controls and seats aligned just so. And each has plenty of adjustment for the driver’s seat and steering wheel, so you’ll be able to get comfortable whether you’re tall or short. The Hyundai Kona Electric is the only one with adjustable lumbar support, but the Vauxhall Mokka-e and Volkswagen ID 3’s seats are unlikely to cause any backache even without this feature.
The Kona and Mokka have conventional windscreen pillars that are slim enough to see past without much of a problem, whereas the ID 3’s are each split in two (like those of many MPVs) and can hinder your view at junctions. The Mokka’s thick side pillars can create visibility issues if the driver’s seat is slid right back, though; taller drivers have to crane their neck to see to the sides at angled junctions. The good news is that front and rear parking sensors were standard from new on all three, and only the ID 3 misses out on a rear-view camera in the trims we’re testing.
Each of our contenders comes with a digital instrument panel ahead of the driver, although the ID.3’s is rather disappointing; it’s about half the size of the other cars’ and doesn’t show such a broad spread of information.
Meanwhile, the ID 3’s touch-sensitive dashboard controls are infuriating to use on the move; even changing the temperature requires you to take your eyes off the road for too long. That’s especially true at night, because most of them aren’t illuminated. We much prefer the simple, backlit physical buttons and knobs found in the Kona and Mokka.
We’re fans of the Kona’s large touchscreen infotainment system; the graphics are sharp, it’s responsive to commands and the menus are easy to fathom, although some of the icons are a bit small. The Mokka's graphics are fairly sharp, but the screen isn’t especially responsive to inputs and the menus can be confusing; changing radio stations is particularly frustrating.
The large, sharp touchscreen in the ID 3 is impressive to look at, but things go downhill rapidly when you start using it. The menus are confusingly laid out, and rather than labelled icons, in some cases there are just pictures. Smartphone mirroring came as standard from new on all three cars.
Still, you can count on Volkswagen for a high-quality interior, right? Well, not really. There may be a thin sliver of soft-touch plastic on the ID.3’s dashboard and doors, but everything else is hard plastic. At least the interior feels solidly screwed together and has a nicer look and feel than the Kona’s interior, which employs even more unyielding, scratchy plastic. The Mokka has the greatest spread of squishy stuff, but it also feels the flimsiest in terms of build quality.
Even lanky folk will find that there’s plenty of space in the front of these cars, although it’s the ID 3 that feels the airiest and has the most leg room. It also offers the most storage space, while the Mokka is the stingiest.
There’s no contest when it comes to rear seat space. The ID.3 wipes the floor with the other two for leg room and has plenty of head room as well, so it’s the best for a couple of six-footers. Anyone that big will struggle in the back of the other two, because they’re quite confined, although the Kona has a smidgen more leg room than the Mokka.
Being so small, the Kona and Mokka aren’t much cop if you try to cram three in the back, so the fact that the Kona has a flat floor isn’t as beneficial as it is in the ID 3. The Mokka has the narrowest rear bench and a big hump in the centre of the floor, so it’s the least suitable for a middle passenger.
The ID 3 has the biggest boot, which can swallow five carry-on suitcases below its parcel shelf with room to spare. The Kona and Mokka can each hold one case less. Disappointingly, a variable-height boot floor isn’t included with Life trim in the ID 3; you'll have to shop for an example in a pricier trim level to get one. Without it, there’s a higher loading lip to negotiate than in the other two, as well as a step in the floor when you fold down the rear seats.
A variable-height boot floor was a standard feature from new on the Mokka, though. This can be raised to reduce the load lip and even out the step in the extended boot floor when the rear seatbacks are folded. The Kona’s fixed floor is high enough to begin with, so its load lip is tiny and you end up with a flat load bay with its rear seats down. All three have conventional 60/40 seat splits.
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